Author: wullie

Amazing thanks to Jeanette Findaly and Paul Quigley for leading the charge.

Seven years of fighting just to get rid of a law North Korea would be proud of.

I canny wright anymore because I’m happily drunk and buzzing but thank you to every football fan who stood together and James Kelly MSP who had the balls to stand up for every football fan in Scotland.

This is a copy of the Second response from Patrick Harvie MSP. Sent to me and 0thers. As usual the SNP seem to think we will just go away. I’m sure we can help them change their mind.

I am writing to provide an update in relation to your concerns about the policing of football fans in Scotland. As I said in my previous email, I lodged a question with the Scottish Government, asking whether the report on the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act could be brought forward in light of these concerns. My question to the Scottish Government has now received a response, which I have copied below. Continue reading “FAC – Important Response from Patrick Harvie MSP #tcnfacfiles”

ustice Committee of the Scottish Parliament publishes its Stage 1 report on the Repeal of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communication (Scotland) 2012 Act

Following the largest public consultation that the Scottish Parliament has ever had on any issue, the Justice Committee began hearing oral evidence on 3rd October 2017. There followed several sessions which involvedlegal bodies, fans groups, the football authorities, academics, the police and civil rights and equalities bodies and which concluded on 12 December 2017.

The overwhelming message which was given to the Justice Committee was that the Act was unnecessary, illiberal, damaging to police-fan relations and potentially in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In light of this, the Justice Committee has today recommended the Repeal Bill to the Parliament and the vote on the Stage 1 report will take place on 25th of September.

We call on all MSPs to recognise that this law is bad law, it is a failure and it needs to be repealed as a matter of urgency so that the injustice meted out to young football fans can stop and the damage which it has caused can begin to be repaired. This also leaves the way clear for a sensible and mature discussion to take place which addresses those social issues which the Act was alleged to be about but which have been advanced not one iota since 2011.

Having campaigned against this Act for close to seven years, we now look forward to the next stage in the process (amendments) and the eventual Stage 3 vote which will see this ‘stain on the reputation of the Scottish legal system’ finally removed.

When I set up TCN in 2011 it was against the background of the so called ‘shame game’ and the SNP’s ‘Summit’. Little did I realise that football fans from every club in Scotland would be criminalised from the outcome of the SNP’s ‘summit’. I won’t rake over the coals of the ‘shame’ game, we all have eyes in our head and as such know what happened. Continue reading “Welcome to The Celtic Network FAC Files”

James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, is consulting on a Members’ Bill to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Scotland Act 2012. Currently there is support across all opposition parties in the Scots Parliament for a repeal of this ill thought out piece of legislation. The only party in favour of retaining the Act are the SNP government.

On behalf of the vast majority of football fans in Scotland who want the act repealed I’m asking all Celtic fans who are members or supporters of the SNP to lobby their local party or MSP. Please let them know of your opposition to this illiberal act.

It is vitally important that members or supporters of the SNP, who attend football ask your party’s representative why they would vote to maintain an act that does nothing to fight sectarianism/bigotry in Scottish society. Also, ask them why in times when the national budget is under sever pressure millions of pounds are being wasted on FoCUS.

Football fans need to see beyond party political lines and come together to help repeal Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.